Memory block identified by group of logical block addresses, storage device with movable sectors, and methods

• US 8,554,985 B2
• Filed: 03/10/2011
• Issued: 10/08/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 07/31/1995
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
• Inventors: Estakhri, Petro, Iman, Berhanu, Ganjuei, Ali
• Primary Examiner(s): MACKALL, LARRY T
• Application Number:
  US13/045,159
• Publication Number:
  US 20110167204A1
• Time in Patent Office: 943 Days
• Field of Search: 711/103, 711/E12.008
• US Class Current: 711/103
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1008 in individual solid state devices G06F11/1004 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1068 in sector programmable memories, e.g. flash disk G06F11/1072 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 12/023 Free address space management
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 12/0246 in block erasable memory, e.g. flash memory
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2212/7201 Logical to physical mapping or translation of blocks or pages
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0613 in relation to throughput
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/064 Management of blocks
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0679 Non-volatile semiconductor memory device, e.g. flash memory, one time programmable memory [OTP]
• CPC Class Codes: G11C 16/08 Address circuits; Decoders; Word-line control circuits
• CPC Class Codes: G11C 16/102 External programming circuits, e.g. EPROM programmers; In-circuit programming or reprogramming; EPROM emulators
• CPC Class Codes: G11C 29/765 in solid state disks
• CPC Class Codes: G11C 29/82 for EEPROMs
• CPC Class Codes: G11C 8/12 Group selection circuits, e.g. for memory block selection, chip selection, array selection

Abstract

In an embodiment, a non-volatile memory has erasable blocks of memory cells. The one or more of the erasable blocks include a particular block to be identified by a particular group of logical block addresses corresponding to a predetermined group of sectors.

Claims

1. A storage device, comprising:

a non-volatile memory organized into physical blocks, wherein each physical block comprises a plurality of sectors corresponding to a plurality of logical block addresses; and

a controller coupled to the memory;

wherein only one sector in each physical block comprises a sector status location configured to store information that indicates a move status of each sector of a respective physical block; and

wherein the only one sector in each physical block that comprises the sector status location is configured to store a sector of data in addition to the information that indicates the move status.

2. The storage device of claim 1, wherein, upon power-up, the controller is configured to read the information from each sector status location and store it in a memory of the controller.

3. The storage device of claim 2, wherein the memory of the controller is accessible without accessing the particular physical block.

4. The storage device of claim 3, wherein the memory of the controller comprises a table comprising a plurality of fields, wherein the fields respectively store the information from sector status locations upon power up.

5. The storage device of claim 1, wherein the sector status location of the only one sector in each physical block comprises bits corresponding to respective ones of the sectors in a respective physical block, and wherein a value of a bit indicates whether the corresponding sector has been moved.

6. A non-volatile memory, comprising:

erasable blocks of memory cells;

wherein one or more of the erasable blocks includes a particular block to be identified by a particular group of logical block addresses corresponding to a predetermined group of sectors of the particular block;

wherein fewer than all of the sectors of the predetermined group of sectors of the particular block can be moved to an erasable block other than the particular block;

wherein only one sector of the particular block comprises a sector status location for storing information indicating the move status of each of the sectors of the predetermined group of sectors of the particular block; and

wherein the only one sector of the particular block that comprises the sector status location is configured to store a sector of data in addition to the information that indicates the move status.

7. A method of operating a storage system, comprising:

transferring a sector of data from a first used erasable block within a non-volatile memory over a data bus to a temporary storage location within a memory controller that is located externally of the non-volatile memory and that is coupled to the non-volatile memory by the data bus; and

transferring the sector of data over the data bus from the temporary storage location within memory controller to a free erasable block within the non-volatile memory;

wherein the sector of data transferred from the first used erasable block replaces a sector of data in a sector of a plurality of sectors in a second used erasable block, wherein each sector of the plurality of sectors in the second used erasable block corresponds to a logical block address and is configured to store a sector of data; and

wherein only one sector of the plurality of sectors in the second used erasable block comprises a sector status location that indicates a move status of each of the sectors of the second used erasable block so that the only one sector of the plurality of sectors in the second used erasable block is configured to store the sector of data in addition to the move status of each of the sectors of the second used erasable block.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein transferring the sector of data from the first used erasable block within the non-volatile memory over the data bus to the temporary storage location within the memory controller comprises transferring the sector of data from the first used erasable block within the non-volatile memory over the data bus to a RAM buffer within the memory controller.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein transferring the sector of data from the first used erasable block within the non-volatile memory comprises transferring the sector of data from a first used erasable block within a non-volatile memory device of the non-volatile memory.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein transferring the sector of data over the data bus from the temporary storage location within memory controller to the free erasable block within the non-volatile memory comprises transferring the sector of data over the data bus from the temporary storage location within the memory controller to a free erasable block within the non-volatile memory device of the non-volatile memory or within another non-volatile memory device of the non-volatile memory.

11. The method of claim 7, further comprising writing information in the sector status location that indicates the move status of the sector that has been moved to the free erasable block.

12. The method of claim 7, wherein transferring the sector of data over the data bus from the temporary storage location within memory controller to the free erasable block comprises transferring that sector of data from the temporary storage location to a free sector in the free erasable block, and further comprising, after transferring the sector of data from the temporary storage location to the free sector in the free erasable block, rewriting an other sector of data in the first used erasable block to another free sector in the free erasable block.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising, after rewriting the other sector of data in the first used erasable block to the another free sector in the free erasable block, writing information into a storage location within the controller indicating that the used erasable block cannot be used prior to erasure.

14. A method of operating a storage system, comprising:

receiving a logical block address at a controller, the logical block address corresponding to a particular sector of a plurality of sectors, corresponding to a plurality of logical block addresses, of a first erasable memory block of a non-volatile memory, wherein only one sector of the plurality of sectors of a the first erasable memory block comprises a sector status location that is configured to store information indicating a replacement status of each of the sectors in the first erasable memory block;

determining at the controller whether the particular sector of the plurality of sectors of the first erasable memory block is programmed;

if the particular sector of the plurality of sectors of the first erasable memory block is programmed, finding an unprogrammed sector within a second erasable memory block of the non-volatile memory;

writing data to the unprogrammed sector within the second erasable memory block so that the unprogrammed sector within the second erasable memory block is now a programmed sector within the second erasable memory block; and

writing information to the sector status location indicating that the particular sector of the plurality of sectors of the first erasable memory block is replaced;

wherein the only one sector of the plurality of sectors of the first erasable memory block that comprises the sector status location is further configured to store a sector of data in addition to the information indicating the replacement status of each of the sectors in the first erasable memory block.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising moving the data contained in the programmed sector within the second erasable memory block from the programmed sector within the second erasable memory block to an unprogrammed sector of a third erasable memory block in response to determining at the controller that data in an other sector in the second erasable memory block is to be rewritten and in response to determining at the controller that the data in the other sector in the second erasable memory block replaces data in another sector of the first erasable memory block of a non-volatile memory.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein moving the data contained in the programmed sector within the second erasable memory block comprises:

moving the data contained in the programmed sector within the second erasable memory block from the programmed sector within the second erasable memory block to a storage location within the controller over a data bus coupled between the non-volatile memory and the controller; and

moving the data that was moved from the programmed sector within the second erasable memory block to the storage location within the controller from the storage location within the controller to the unprogrammed sector of the third erasable memory block over the data bus.

17. The method of claim 15, further comprising after moving the data contained in the programmed sector within the second erasable memory block from the programmed sector within the second erasable memory block to the unprogrammed sector of the third erasable memory block, writing information to a storage location within the controller indicating that the second erasable memory block cannot be used unless it is erased.

18. The storage device of claim 14, wherein the only one sector of the plurality of sectors of the first erasable memory block is the particular sector of the plurality of sectors of the first erasable memory block.

19. A non-volatile memory, comprising:

erasable blocks of memory cells;

wherein one or more of the erasable blocks includes a particular block to be identified by a particular group of logical block addresses corresponding to a predetermined group of sectors of the particular block;

wherein fewer than all of the sectors of the predetermined group of sectors of the particular block can be moved to an erasable block other than the particular block; and

wherein only one sector of the particular block comprises a sector status location for storing information indicating the move status of each of the sectors of the predetermined group of sectors of the particular block; and

wherein the only one sector of the particular block that comprises the sector status location further comprises a sector data location configured to store a sector of data.

20. The non-volatile memory of claim 19, wherein the fewer than all of the sectors of the predetermined group of sectors of the particular block that have been moved to the erasable block other than the particular block and other sectors of the predetermined group of sectors of the particular block that have not been moved are part of a same single logical block specified by a host.

21. The non-volatile memory of claim 19, wherein upon power up, the information in the sector status location is read from the sector status location and stored in a controller coupled to the non-volatile memory.

22. The non-volatile memory of claim 19, wherein the erasable block other than the particular block is addressable by a move virtual physical block address from a controller coupled to the non-volatile memory, wherein the move virtual physical block address represents a physical block address value identifying a location of the erasable block other than the particular block.

23. The non-volatile memory of claim 19, wherein each sector of the particular block comprises a flag field for indicating whether that sector has been moved to the erasable block other than the particular block.

24. The non-volatile memory of claim 19, wherein the sector status location is configured to store a plurality of bits, where the bits respectively correspond to the sectors predetermined group of sectors.

25. The non-volatile memory of claim 24, wherein the bits that respectively correspond to the fewer than all of the sectors of the predetermined group of sectors of the particular block that have been moved to the erasable block other than the particular block have a first value and the bits that respectively correspond to other sectors of the predetermined group of sectors of the particular block that have not been moved have a second value different from the first value.